As the title states, I’m looking for a rear axle out of a 2nd gen f-body. Working condition of internal parts doesn’t matter to me. Let me know what you have and how much you’re asking for. Thanks.
I have a few 2.41 posi axles sitting out behind my carport. They came from a 79 and 80 Trans Am.
You can buy what’s left of my parts car for $300. Original 34k mile V6 car that was left in the grass for about 5 years. I drove the car onto the trailer, so I know the rear is good. I think I have the build sheet so I can look to see what ratio, but it was a V6 car.
thanks for the offer, but I just don’t have a use for the shell. how much would you want for just the rear axle assembly? I’m just using the case, so i don’t care if there are gears, a carrier or axle shafts in it. I only care that it’s straight.
I hope you don’t plan on putting this into your 3rd gen. There is no provision for a torque arm, and the axle length is different. The 2nd gen is a leaf spring rearend so you would have to transfer over the axle brackets. Do you have a jig to weld the brackets on straight? Do you have a jig to cut and reweld the housing ends?
Sorry it took forever to reply. I’m actually picking up the rear axle tonight, got a sweet deal (free!). I am putting it into my 3rd gen, but I know what I’m getting into. It turns out that the width of the axle is nearly identical to the 3rd gen (less than 1" difference), so cutting the axle tubes isn’t required. As for mounting the proper brackets and torque arm mount… I have the original brackets from my old axle to swap over. Paul is going to do the build. He’s modified one of these 8.5" 10 bolts for a 3rd gen before and has a fixture for the brackets. He fabricated a torque arm mount for that one also.
The reason I’m doing this is that building one with this custom work and all new internals will be more than strong enough to handle what I plan to put down in the forseeable future, and the total cost is in the neighborhood of $1500-$1600 compared to a Strange or Moser 12 bolt or Dana 60 that’s total overkill for my needs and costs more like $2300-$2400.
After spending $1500-$1600 you still have a stock housing with thin tubes. I guess if the torque arm is NOT welded to the cast iron housing it should be okay. If the torque arm bracket IS welded to cast iron you are just wasting your money. There is a reason more people don’t put older rearends into newer F bodies.
ive seen 2 of these houseings twisted already with around 400whp and 450wtq put through it. and one was even welded to strengthen it. but yes it is alot stronger than the 7.5s that come in the 3rd gens
the mount won’t be welded on. One thing I don’t understand though is that I hear it’s a very bad idea to weld a torque arm mount to a cast iron center section, yet it’s common practice to seam weld the axle tubes to the center section for added strength. What am I missing here? I understand that the factory welds are more like 4 plugs that get welded to the axle shafts through holes in the center section, so it’s more like a mechanical connection than a true weld. But the seam welding doesn’t go along with the “don’t weld cast iron” philosophy. Also, I got the 8.5" housing yesterday and the tubes were a good bit larger in diameter than the 7.5" axle tubes. I don’t recall the exact size. We roughly measured the overall width of the axles and they were within an inch.
Plug weld on factory tubes is on the tube. Also places like Moser & Strange have the equipment and knowledge to weld the tubes correctly to cast iron. The grade of cast iron also has a lot to do with the ability to weld to it. Aftermarket axle companies use a Nicast or high nickel cast iron. GM or AA uses shit coat iron to keep the profits up. Also I wasn’t talking tube diameter, I was talking tube thickness.